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Plus, Tesla installs the world’s largest energy storage facility in under 100 days, Autodesk to cut nearly 1,200 jobs, and more design-tech news from this week.

By ARCHITECT Staff

Photo by Dennis Schroeder courtesy NREL

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a switchable solar window that goes from transparent to tinted in the sunlight, converting the absorbed rays into electricity. “There is a fundamental tradeoff between a good window and a good solar cell,” said NREL scientist Lance Wheeler in a press release. “This technology bypasses that. We have a good solar cell when there’s lots of sunshine and we have a good window when there’s not.” The material makes use of perovskites and single-walled carbon nanotubes to achieve this effect. [NREL]